Sixteen boys flee from shelter home

New Delhi: Sixteen young boys ran away from a
shelter home run by an NGO during Holi celebrations at one of
its campuses in the national capital.

The incident was reported from the shelter home located
in Jahangirpuri and run by Prayas, an NGO founded by former
IPS officer Amod Kanth, on March one. Five children who have
run away have been located and brought back.

"We were having a music programme at our shelter home
when some of the boys managed to run away. Some outside
elements helped them in this. We hope to bring the remaining
boys back with in a week," Saroj Sain, Prayas Director, said.

The boys who fled from the shelter home were earlier
rescued by the NGO from traffickers and industries where they
were employed.

A missing complaint has been filed by the NGO at the
Jehangirpuri police station, Sain said. The NGO has formed
two teams to locate the boys and they are working round the
clock, he said.

"Ours is not an observation home and so we cannot lock
them up. They go to schools and lead a normal life like any
other child," he said.

The Delhi-based NGO, one of the largest non-profit
organisations in the country was founded in 1988 by Kanth
after a fire ravaged the North Delhi slum of Jahangirpuri.